1974 Kawasaki H1
(Page 4 of 4)
July/August 2009
By Margie Siegel
Period testers were fascinated by the off-kilter sound of the triple, and loved the blistering engine performance, but tiptoed gingerly around the handling. The 1973 revisions were hailed by testers as the cure to what ailed previous models. “Our test bike vibrated about half as much as the early Mach III that I last rode,” wrote Frank Conner of Cycle Guide in April 1973. “The machine felt good in corners, and I could ride it with confidence.”
RELATED CONTENT
Call it the little V-twin that could. Call it expensive for its day, and maybe even unusual. You’d ...
Yamaha's experiement with the parallel twin on the 1973 TX750....
The Kawasaki Z1 was the crown jewel of road bikes...
In life we’re faced with choices: republican or democrat, blond or brunette, paper or plastic? Shop...
Bill rides his somewhat cautiously. His boyhood friend was killed on his H1, and respecting the motorcycle has kept Bill out of trouble. “I tend to stay off the freeway on this bike,” he says. “I know some stretches of windy road, and that’s where I tend to go. I don’t go into corners fast. I try to anticipate corners rather than react. I go into the corner slowly, and then throttle out. It’s not easy to change lines once you are in a corner.”
Although Bill truly loves his Kawasaki, he realizes it has limitations: “You just have to keep in mind that the H1 was notorious for its lack of handling. My mechanic took it out for a test ride. She was doing 80 on the freeway when she went into a high speed wobble. She’s a good rider, though, and kept it up.”
Economy is not the bike’s strong suit. “The gas mileage is not great. I think I get around 20mpg,” Bill says. “Although the seat is comfortable, it does vibrate. It’s not a touring machine — it likes to be in the fast lane. It likes to settle in and cruise at 6,000 to 7,000rpm in all gears, and that’s where I end up on secondary roads or freeways.”
Instead of expecting it to be what it is not, Bill appreciates his triple for what it is. “The H1 excels at straight-line raw performance. It’s not efficient, but it is exciting,” he says. “What H1 triples have is sound. That throaty ‘rat-tat-tat’ is unique. They have style. The long tanks and the gleaming upswept pipes of the 1974 and 1975 triples have a timeless classic industrial design. And most of all, they have raw performance.”
A raw performance Bill isn’t likely to let go of anytime soon: “That machine was imprinted on me in my youth. It’s a part of me.” MC
Page:
<< Previous 1 |
2 |
3 | 4 |